It’s all so Canadian.Canada’s favourite hosers, Bob and Doug MacKenzie, are coming back to ‘The Great White North’ to protest Ottawa’s plans to hike the tax on a pack of ‘two-fours’ in 2024 by more than 5%.According to a series of spots to air on radio stations and social media sites across the country, Beer Canada — a trade association representing 90% of all beer production in the country — aims to raise awareness of what it says are already some of the highest beer taxes in the G7 and indeed, the world.It’s urging the public to contact their political representatives to allow MPs to vote on beer taxes in an open vote in the House of Commons. Canada automatically raises the suds surcharge on April 1 of every year, which is due to go up another 5% this spring..What’s worse is that it’s indexed to inflation, actually fuelling it and putting indirect pressure on things such as interest rates.“We drink responsibly, so tax responsibly,” Messrs. Bob & Doug urge MPs. “Tell your local MP you want more than a big glass of foam, eh!”According to the industry website nearly 50% of the price of beer in Canada is taxes, amongst the highest rates in the world and the very highest in the G7. That pint is a major manufactured agricultural product that employs about 21,000 people and supports another 150,000 positions in the hospitality and tourism sectors..Brewers buy up about 300,000 tonnes of Canadian grain a year and contribute about $13.6 billion to the country’s economy, generating more than $5.7 billion in taxes for various governments.“Let’s all agree that this is not the right time to impose the largest beer tax increase on Canadians in the last 40 years. We believe our governments should do their best to keep life affordable, not make it more expensive,” it says.
